Unsteady in Love: Fairlane Series #3

  Unsteady in Love

  Fairlane Series #3

  Harlow Layne

  Contents

  Prologue

  Chapter 1

  Chapter 2

  Chapter 3

  Chapter 4

  Chapter 5

  Chapter 6

  Chapter 7

  Chapter 8

  Chapter 9

  Chapter 10

  Chapter 11

  Chapter 12

  Chapter 13

  Chapter 14

  Chapter 15

  Chapter 16

  Chapter 17

  Chapter 18

  Chapter 19

  Chapter 20

  Chapter 21

  Chapter 22

  Chapter 23

  Chapter 24

  Chapter 25

  Chapter 26

  Chapter 27

  Chapter 28

  Chapter 29

  Chapter 30

  Chapter 31

  Chapter 32

  Chapter 33

  Enjoy This Book?

  Acknowledgments

  About Harlow

  Also by Harlow Layne

  UNSTEADY IN LOVE by Harlow Layne

  Copyright © 2019 by Harlow Layne. All rights reserved.

  ISBN-13: 978-1-950044-02-3 (Ebook Edition)

  ISBN-13: 978-1-950044-03-0 (Paperback Edition)

  Edited by: Your Editing Lounge - Editor: Kristen

  Proofread by: Melita Bloomer & Moonlight Manuscripts

  Cover Design: Harlow Layne

  Images from Depositphotos.com

  No part of this book may be reproduced in any form or by any electronic or mechanical means, including information storage and retrieval systems, without written permission from the author, except for the use of brief quotations in a book review.

  Manufactured in the United States of America.

  This is a work of fiction. Names, characters, places, and incidents either are the products of the author’s imagination or are use fictitiously. Any resemblance to actual persons, living or dead, businesses, companies, events, or locales is entirely coincidental.

  Prologue

  PRUE

  The Day After High School Graduation

  My toes skimmed across the worn wood of the porch as I tried for the hundredth time that day to reach Holden. We were supposed to go to Chicago to try to find ourselves an apartment for the fall, but Holden had failed to pick me up when he was supposed to. At first, I thought nothing of it and only thought he was late, but as time ticked by with no word, I started to get worried. This wasn’t like my boyfriend of three years. Holden always called when he was going to be late, which wasn’t very often. Hours later and I was a mess, grasping at straws as to where he was and why he wasn’t answering any of my phone calls or text messages.

  “Any word?” my dad asked out the screen door, worry etched on his strong but tired face.

  “No.” I hung my head as tears started to build for the millionth time that day.

  “Why don’t you drive on over to his house? Maybe his parents know where he is. I think leaving the front porch will do you some good anyhow.” He gave me a weary smile that did nothing to ease my worries.

  “Maybe I should. Sitting here isn’t getting me anywhere,” I strangled out, worried about what could have happened to Holden to prevent him from picking up his phone.

  “That’s my girl. I’m sure it’s some big misunderstanding.” He gave me a wan smile.

  “You think?” My head popped up, hopeful.

  “Baby girl, Holden loves you more than life itself. Nothing could keep him away.”

  He did. Holden loved me just as much as I loved him. My dad was right. Long ago, my dad had accepted that Holden would be around for the long haul. Not that Holden was bad news or anything. Only the fact that my dad thought I was too young to find the man I was going to spend the rest of my life with.

  This all had to have been some kind of misunderstanding. Holden had probably left his phone somewhere and couldn’t hear it the hundred times I’d called. That had to be it.

  “You’re right, Dad. Thanks. I’m going to see what’s going on. Don’t wait up for me.” I hopped off the porch swing and dashed inside for my car keys. On my way out, I popped up on my toes and gave my dad’s smooth cheek a kiss. So excited to see Holden, I tripped going down the stairs. Looking back up at my dad, he stood shaking his head and waved.

  The entire way to Holden’s house, I had the windows down and let the wind blow through my hair. There was something about the feeling of the night air on my skin and my hair tickling along my back and arms that soothed me. By the time I made it to Holden’s house, I almost felt like myself again.

  As I pulled up into his driveway, I noticed there were no lights on in the house which was odd. There were always lights on at night from the timer they always set. Stacy and Bruce Montgomery didn’t want their son to ever come home to a dark house. This was the first time in years I’d seen it pitch black inside. The worry from earlier reared its ugly head as I hoped a light would miraculously turn on.

  Still, I parked and made my way up to the ornate front door. I tried to peek inside through the frosted windows to no avail. I knew there was no point, but I was desperate. It was eerie how quiet the house was. Not even a cricket was chirping in the yard.

  Taking a deep breath, I rang the doorbell with the hope that this was all some sort of silly prank and waited patiently for someone to answer the door. After a few minutes with no one in sight, I decided to try my luck at the doorknob. If Holden knew I was coming over, he made sure that the front door was unlocked for me to come in. We’d been together for so long, I was part of the family. This time, though, I was met with the resistance of a locked door.

  Where were they?

  Fighting back the tears that were threatening to build, I slipped my phone out of my back pocket and punched in Holden’s number one last time. By that time, I expected it to ring and go straight to voicemail or for it to be dead after all the times I’d called and texted throughout the day. I never expected the message that shattered my heart into a million pieces.

  “We're sorry. You have reached a number that has been disconnected or is no longer in service. If you feel you have reached this recording in error, please check the number and try your call again.”

  Falling to my knees, my entire world crumbled around me.

  Holden was gone.

  And I was alone.

  1

  PRUE

  Blurry eyed, I made my way down the aisle, choking back the sob that had been threatening to spill out for the past hour. I had three goals in mind that were keeping me focused. Keeping me from making a spectacle of myself. The first was to make my way to my car without speaking to anyone. The second was to drive home without wrecking, and the third was to crawl into bed, pull the blankets up over my head and bawl my eyes out.

  With my head down and hands clenched into fists, no one bothered to speak to me. They’d all already said their condolences. What more could they say? It was only a matter of time. I knew it was coming no matter how hard I had tried to deny it.

  I was pulled up short when I spotted a large figure leaning against the trunk of my old Ford Taurus. When the figure saw me, he stood up tall. So tall, he was well beyond six foot with a hulking frame that on any other day of the week would have had me quaking in my boots, but not this day. I didn’t give one shit who it was or what they wanted. My sole focus was on my goal of making it to my bed to cry. Alone and in peace. That was all I cared about.

  Not caring, I ignored the figure, bypassing him and making my way to the driver side door. I could feel him looking at me
, his gaze burning a hole in the back of my head, but again, I didn’t care. Instead, I hit the button to unlock my door and heard the satisfying sound of my doors unlocking. With my hand on the handle, I felt his heat against my back.

  Maybe it wasn’t smart for me to throw caution to the wind. In my little town there was very little crime, which gave me a false sense of security, or maybe it was the fact that I had nothing else to live for now that my dad was dead except to pay off his medical bills, which would probably take until the next century.

  “Prue, are you really going to ignore me?” a gruff voice asked me. There was something in that voice that rendered my body immobile. It was familiar and yet foreign all at the same time.

  Spinning around, I was met with the chocolatey brown eyes of my high school sweetheart. I’d know those eyes anywhere. I’d spent countless hours staring into them before he’d up and left, breaking my heart almost four years ago.

  Crossing my arms over my chest to keep my heart from falling out onto the parking lot for him to stomp all over, I narrowed my eyes, peering up at the man who was once familiar but now looked like a total stranger.

  Since I’d last seen him, he’d grown at least two inches. In high school, Holden was the captain of the football team, and at the time, I thought he was muscular with his athletic frame. But now those once lean muscles had grown muscles. There were muscles on top of muscles. In essence, Holden was now huge. Almost bodybuilder huge. On top of all those new muscles, his arms were covered in ink. His long-ago baby face was now angular and filled with tension. What was once soft and sweet was now rough and rugged. He was definitely no longer the boy I used to know. He hadn’t been for a long time.

  “Holden?” My gaze slid down the rest of his body. He was outfitted in tight, dark jeans that looked as if the seams might burst any second from showcasing his magnificent thighs, black motorcycle boots, and a dark gray t-shirt that stretched over his bulging biceps and chest. He was perfection—and I hated him.

  “Prue.” The one syllable of my name coming from his lips sounded as if it physically pained him to utter the one syllable.

  “What are you doing here?” I eyed the door to the funeral home as people started to trickle out, silently praying they’d keep their distance.

  Clearing his throat, he placed his hands in his pockets, making his jeans dip lower on his trim waist. For a brief second, I imagined what he might look like underneath his t-shirt.

  Stop noticing his body! This was the man who up and disappeared never be seen again.

  “I heard about your dad and wanted to be here for you,” he answered with genuine sadness in his voice.

  “You wanted to be here for me?” I asked, my words dripping with sarcasm. “Where were you the day after graduation? Where were you when my dad got his diagnosis? Nowhere is where you were. Gone. I didn’t need you then, and I sure as hell don’t need you now, Holden Montgomery.” Fire burned in my veins as the memories of Holden not being by my side when I needed him flickered through my subconscious. My eyes turned to slits as I reached behind me and gripped the door handle to help keep me grounded. “Go back to where you came from.”

  “Please, Prue. I want to be here for you. I can’t…” He faltered, the eyes I once loved filled with sadness. “I can’t imagine what you’re going through. I know you don’t have anyone.”

  “Do you now? Have you been stalking me?” My anger grew into something I hadn’t felt in years. Not since he’d disconnected his phone and left without a trace. All I wanted was to be left alone and go cry in my bed.

  “No,” his brows knitted together. “You know me, I’d never do that.”

  “I don’t know who you are anymore, and you certainly don’t know me. The boy I knew never would have left me without a reason.”

  Closing his eyes, face etched in agony, Holden nodded. “I’m not that boy anymore. The man standing before you wants to explain what happened after graduation. If only you’ll let him.”

  Hanging my head, I bit back the sob as I whimpered. “Not today, Holden. Please don’t do this today. I can’t handle it today of all days.”

  “When?” he demanded, standing even taller. Imposing. If I didn’t know better, I would have thought he’d done it to intimidate me.

  “I don’t know. If you have to do it, then give me time. I’m barely holding it together. If you ever cared for me, you’ll let me go.”

  Hurt flashed across his face for only a moment before he schooled his features. “I’ll give you time,” he rasped out before turning on his booted heel and walking across the dark parking lot into the night.

  I closed my eyes, wanting to yell for him to come back. Maybe he could make the hurt go away even for only a moment. And then I remembered what he’d done to me. He wasn’t here to give me comfort. I had no idea what he wanted or why he came back, and I didn’t care. Long ago, I had stopped caring about Holden and what he wanted.

  2

  PRUE

  My eyes blinked open as the doorbell rang for the third time in thirty seconds. I could barely open my eyes from all the crying I’d done once I got home last night.

  The doorbell rang again. And again.

  Whoever it was, wasn’t giving up.

  Clearing my eyes, I looked at my alarm clock to see it was a little after seven in the morning. Who the hell would be ringing my doorbell so early? It better not be someone with a damn casserole. The only person who ever came over was my neighbor, Alex. Shit, was it her? I did notice she was back in town the other day. Maybe it was an emergency.

  Jumping out of bed, I quickly made my way to the front door not even bothering to check to see who was there.

  Big mistake.

  Swinging the door open, Holden was taking up the entire door frame with his big body. His legs spread wide and hands clasped onto the top of the door frame.

  “What are you doing here, Holden?” I snapped.

  “I came to talk. To explain myself.”

  Wrapping my arms around myself to keep the chill of the cold morning air away, I glared up at him. “Did you ever think that maybe I just might be sleeping?”

  “I wanted to catch up before you took off or something, so you wouldn’t have to see me,” he stated, his voice void of any emotion.

  “Are you shitting me? You’ve got me confused with yourself,” I snarled out.

  Crossing his own arms over his broad chest, Holden held his ground with his face set, letting me know with one stubborn look he wasn’t going to give up until I listened to what he had to say. I hated that damn look, and seeing it after all these years, I wanted to slap it off his stupid, handsome face.

  “Listen, I just want to sleep and grieve. Is that too much to ask? Come by next week and we can talk then, if you insist.” Hopefully, he’d be over his need to explain why he disappeared almost four years ago.

  Shaking his head, his mouth formed into a thin line. “No can do. I’ll be gone by then.”

  “Oh, planning on leaving again, are you? Then don’t bother. Maybe I’ll see you in another four years.”

  “Goddammit, Prue, if you’d only listen,” he growled out.

  “I don’t have to listen to anything you have to say. Please just leave me alone,” I croaked out.

  “Not until you listen to me.”

  Rage like I’d never felt before consumed me. Why couldn’t he leave me alone? It was too much to deal with right now. Or maybe ever, if I was honest with myself.

  “Get the hell off my property, Holden! You are not welcome here!” I shrieked, my whole body trembling.

  “Why do you always have to be so damn stubborn? Just listen to me for two minutes. That’s all, and you never have to see me again if you don’t want to.” A growl ripped from his chest. His voice was so low and scary, I took a step back.

  “You have no right to be here! I don’t want to talk to you or see you ever again! Leave like you did before, Holden. Leave!”

  Crossing the yard, a tall blond man who looke
d like a Viking god, dressed in only a pair of pajama pants and tennis shoes, made his way toward us.

  “You need to leave,” the man said with a slight accent as he came to stand in front of me. “The lady doesn’t want you here. If you don’t back off, I’ll be forced to call the police.”

  Taking a step back, Holden glared at our guest. “This isn’t any of your business. I only want to talk to her.”

  “She doesn’t look like she wants to talk. In fact, she looked scared when I walked up here,” the Viking said, standing tall. Protecting me. Who was this man?

  Deep lines raced across Holden's forehead, his lips turning down. “Prue,” he shook his head, sorrow filling his once familiar eyes, “I would never hurt you.”

  “I know,” I whispered. My vision blurred as tears welled in my eyes. “Please go, Holden. I can’t do this.”

  A flash of emotion crossed his face before Holden turned around and stalked off to a car at the curb. And just like last night and all those years before, he was gone. I had a feeling it wouldn’t be the last time I saw Holden Montgomery no matter how much I didn’t want to see him again.

  The Viking turned toward me with his lips tipped up in a friendly smile making him all the more good looking. “Are you okay?”

  Taking a deep breath, I nodded. “Yeah, well, not really.” My brows pulled together thinking about where he’d come from. “I don’t mean to be rude, but who are you?”